Process of constructing closet-bowls.



a. P. GAVIN. PROCESS 9F QGPBTBUCTING QLOSET BOWLS APPLICATION HLED MAR. ll. I915. 21 289 151 0 x Patent/e111 11m, 31, 1918. I z sass-1' ssss EU s.

GRP. GAVIN. PROCESS OF CONSTRUCIING CLOSET BOWLS.

APPLICATIQN min MAR. 11. m5.

Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

m ea jlmo GORDON P. GAVIN, OF CHICAGO,

EFTQE- ILLINOIS.

PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING- CLOSET-BOWLS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

Application filed March 11, 1915. Serial No. 13,778.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GoRDoN P. GAVIN, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Processes of Gonstructing Closet-Bowls, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates in general to the ceramic art and has more particular reference to the casting of ceramic articles having tortuous passageways or revolute surfaces or both such as closet bowls and the like. Although the invention hereinafter disclosed is described for the purposes of illustration in connection with a closet bowl, it will be manifest that it has-a much wider and more general application, being capable of effective use in the construction of many other ceramic articles of irregular and non-symmetrical contour or having internal tortuous passageways. v

jPrior to my invention it has been the custom to form ceramic articles of irregular formation through the use of molds in a variety of ways, two of which may be cited as examples. Parts have been first cast and partially dried, the molds forming them removed and other parts subsequently cast thereto by the positioning of other molds. In some instances toilet seats and the like have been constructed by casting the body of the bowl and successively casting thereupon other parts determined by the curves of the article in forming the tortuous passage required. This form has required considerable time as each part must be dried before the next may be added and its use has been accompanied with considerable loss by reason of the uneven drying and consequent uneven shrinkage of the parts before and during baking, which frequently causes the article to crack.

Another process employed has been that of providing a two-part vertically separable mold for determining the outer contour and for determining certain members of the inner portions. In this last mentioned arrangement, however, the molds have been poured full of ceramic materials in semiliquid state, the material of the mold absorbing suflicient moisture to produce the desired depth of incrustation, the remainder of the material thereafter being poured out and the shell thus left permitted to dry. It is manifest that this arrangement does not take care of the tortuous siphon passageway, a permanent core being required for this purpose. It, moreover, produces an article of different texture at and near the surface adjacent the mold 'from that at or near the surface remote from themold. This procedure has also resulted in the loss of considerable ceramic or article forming materials by reason of the fact that the substance poured off or removed after incrustation, is not available for subsequent use with good results. The drying is also somewhat uneven where the last described procedure is used. This procedure when closet bowls are made also requires the provision of a permanent core which cannot be removed, this core adding materially to the weight and expense of construction.

It is a principal object of this invention to improve the art of making ceramic articles, to eliminate these and other disadvantages, that is, to provide a method or process of constructing a closet bowl or other ceramic article, all parts of which will have even and uniform texture, the construction of the bowl permitting all parts to be simultaneously constructed and simultaneously manipulated to produce even drying, thereby minimizing the danger of cracking in baking.

A further object of 'the invention is the provision of a process which will reduce materially the time and labor required in the construction of articles of the character described.

Another object of the "invention is the provision of a process for making ceramic articles which may be practised by the ordinary workman without special education in the working of pottery, the invention being capable of use without the exercise of nicety of'judgment and without the use of peculiar manual skill.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a process of constructing closet bowls and the like which will permit the use of heavier slip, that is ceramic materials containing a smaller percentage of water, thereby giving to the bowl a tougher, stronger texture and reducing materially the amount of Water necessary to be taken up by the molds in casting.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a process which will insure the formation of articles of even thickness.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it isbetter understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof. a

On the drawings,

Figure 1 is a rear view of a closet bowl constructed in accordance with my present invention;

Fig. 2 is a section of a mold for the base or lowermost part of the bowl shown in Fi l- Fig. 3 is a section through the molds used to form the part immediately above the base' Fig. 4 is a similar view through the part next above; a

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the molds shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a section through the trap spoon 4 mold; Fig. 7 is a section through one form of mm forming mold Figs. 8 and 9 are companion molds for' forming the rim in slightly dilferent manner' Fig. 10 is a section through a part of a rim formed by the molds 8 and 9; and- Fig. 11 is a section through the assembled mold.

For the purpose of illustratingmy invention I have shown it on the drawings as ap plied to the construction of a closet bowl. The invention contemplates the simultaneous casting in suitablemolds of all of the parts of the bowl, the molds belng so constructed and arranged that all parts are formed between surface determining faces of the molds, as will be later described.

Referring to Fig. 11 it will be noted that the closet bowl A in the present instance is divided into sections as follows: a base B, a body member C, a trap D, a bowl E and-a rim F, the rim F being preferably of two parts G and H (see Fig. 10). The base B is formed by the mold shown in Fig. 2, which mold consists in an upper 'half 15 and a lower half 16 having an internal casting space 17 of thickness and configuration desired in the finished base. Through the upper half 1.5 of this mold a plug 18 is positioned for forming the waste passage 19. This plug is readily removable after the part has been cast. A supply hole 21' suitably located is provided and this supply hole is preferably lined with brass or other material 22 to prevent clogging. The parts 15 and 16 and all of the parts to be hereinafter described are preferably constructed of plaster of Paris or other suitable absorbent material. The body four parts, which comprise a base 23, separable vertical halves 24 and an internal upwardly removable filler or core 25. A supply hole 26 like the supply hole 21 of the mold for the base is provided. The bottom and top portions 23 and 25 extend in proper relation to form the thin shell 27. The down passage 28 from the trap is formed by a plug 29 seated at 31 in the bottom or base 23. The plugs 18' and 29 are preferably also of absorbent material.

The bowl mold is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. This mold consists-of a base 32, a top portion 33 and side portions 34, the parts being arranged to give the desired configuration and thickness to the bowl art E. The trap forming spoon D is mol ed as shown in Fig. 6 between an upper half 35 and a lower half 36, a suitable pouring hole 37 being provided. On the drawings two ways of constructing, the rim are disclosed. One, that shown in Figs. 8 and 9, causing the rim to be cast in two sections, and the other that shown in Fig. 7, causing it to be cast in a single piece, that shown in Figs. 8 and 9, however, being preferred by me at this time. Under this arrangement the, upper section G is cast between upper and lower molds 38 and 39 and the lower half, that shown in Fig. 9, between the upper and lower molds 41 and 42, suitable pouring holes 43, being provided. The mold shown in Fig. 7 is inverted in the figure and consists of a lower half 4-4 and an upper half 45. The supply connection isProvided by the use of a plug 46 at the rear. A pouring hole 47 is of course provided. w

Suitable air vents 50 are pfovided as indicated on the drawings".

When a closet bowl or other. article made in accordance with my invention is to be constructed, the molds shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4, 6 and preferably also in Figs. 8 and 9 are set up and a heavy slip poured into them until the incrustation fills the space per- -mitted by the molds. The pouring of these molds is substantially simultaneous so that all of the parts start drying at the same time. After they have dried somewhat the base B is removed from its mold and'positioned upon a support 51, like the part 16 of the base mold but of appropriate dimensions to permit shrinking of the base. Then the upper and lower parts 23 and 25 of the mold for the body C together with the plug 29 are removed and the body still within the side molds is placed upon the base 51. Next the trap spoon D is removed from its mold and positioned as shown in Fig. 11. Thereafter the bowl E is positiohedby removing the upper and lower parts 32 and 33 and placing it with the vertical side parts 34 of the mold upon the body and its embracing mold parts, as indicated in Fig. 11. The rim parts G and H, if the molds shown inseam in Figs. 8 and 9 are used are then removed from their molds, placed together asrshown in Fig. .10 and positioned upon the top edge 52 of the bowl E. If the form of the mold shown in Fig. 7 is used to construct the rim, this form is set u with the forms for the other portions an a similar slip is poured therein and emptied outa'fter desired incrustation by inverting the mold to the position shown in Fig. 7 This operation should be timed so that when the other parts of the mold are ready for assembling, this rim may also be positioned. This means that it may be cast substantially with the other parts. As each cast section is positioned its faces and the faces of the part upon which it is received which become adjacent are roughened and a small amount of heavy slip or clay is inserted between them to form a bond. The parts thus assembled are permitted. to dry and later baked in the usual manner.

The rim section when formed in two pieces permits the punching of the holes 53 provided for flushing from the inside of the lower section outwardly. This is extremely desirable, for if the form used in Fig. 7 is employed, the inside being more moist than the outside may permit slip to run down into the holes after being punched and; interfere with their perfect formation and free flow. The use of the embodiment shown in Figs. 8 and 9 also permits the truing up of the interior of the rim before the parts of the rim are assembled as well as giving an equal consistency to the external and internal faces. It will be manifest from the foregoin that the thickness of all parts of the closet owl are of predetermined imensions and the faces produced accurate.

As all the parts dry simultaneously the length of time required to form a closet bowl .is materially reduced and the danger of cracking or breaking in drying and baking is minimized. Where the process of making toilet bowls and other articles embodyin my invention is utilized the molds themse ves are not required to absorb undue amounts of water and may be used repeatedly without heat drying. I

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and

it .will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts of the molds and which comprises casting a part of the bowl below a curved plane lying along the upsiphon passageway and at the same time separately casting a part of the :bowl lying above said plane and securing the two parts together one on top of the other.

2. The process of casting a closet bowl,

which comprises casting a part of the' bowl below a plane lying along the lip-siphon passageway and at the same time separately casting a part of the bowl lying above said plane and securin said parts together one on top of the ot er.

3. The proces of casting a' closet bowl, which comprises casting a part of the bowl below a plane lying along the up-siphon passageway and at the same time separately casting a part of the bowl lying above said plane, separately casting a siphon tongue, positioning it and securing said separately cast parts together one on top of the other.

4. The process of casting a' closet bowl, which comprises casting between mold surfaces a. part of the bowl below a plane lying along the up-siphon passageway an at the same time separately casting between mold surfaces a part of the bowl lyin below said plane, removing the interna mold members and securing said parts together while in the outer moldmembers.

5. The process of constructing a closet bowl having a siphon passageway which consists in casting the bowl in sections simultaneously and subsequently securing said sections together, a pair of said sections defining the substantially horizontal part of the siphon passageway between them.

Signed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GORDON P. GAVIN. Witnesses:

J. C. CARPENTER, ESTHER ABRAMs. 

